


Smitten with Kittens

by MoonlightShines (Thatkillervibe)



Category: Stargirl (TV 2020)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), College, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Just Add Kittens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:27:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26635834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatkillervibe/pseuds/MoonlightShines
Summary: Beth walks home from campus in the rain. She makes a surprise encounter along the way.
Relationships: Beth Chapel/Rick Tyler
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Smitten with Kittens

Beth closed her manila folder to protect her documents, stepping over a large puddle sinking the dip of the sidewalk at the intersection. The traffic jammed in front of her, a few beeping horns blaring, cars bumper to bumper. This was usual for downtown when the rain got heavy. She sighed, spinning on her heel to turn away. She’ll simply walk down the alley. Beth didn’t mind road congestion, exactly, but something about her back to back courses today in the lecture halls lingered an ennui for walking in the large crowd all the way home.

Her phone buzzed, with a short message from Rick, letting her know he had started dinner for when she got home.

A smile spread over her face, even under the listless grey clouds. Her parents had been surprised when she told them one quiet dinner the spring before high school graduation that she had wanted to move out. She still remembered the way her father’s fork fell from his strong grip, the silent gasp on her mother’s face.

_“I know it may seem sudden, but you’ve both always wanted the best for me, and you both always wanted me to move on from my dependence on you. This is me moving on. I’ve loved Rick for three years now. And I know I’m young, but this is me trying to make something work on my own time. When I go to university, I’ll be going with him.”_

It all fell into place after that. Two and a half years, and she’s still living in their shared tiny apartment. Small and cramped, and littered with textbooks and JSA tools in random cupboards and medicine closets. Beth knew she made the right decision.

Her thumb hovered over the line of hearts to send back when her boot bumps into a box. Her phone fell back into her purse. Crouching down, she kept her bags above the water. The box made a thump.

She peeled back the soggy flap, and her heart leapt at the huddle of speckled ginger bodies, ears perked and now together in a choir of helpless cries. “Oh my goodness,” she murmured, dropping her hand in to brush against the body of soaked kittens. “Who left you here?”

  


They meowed angrily in reply. Idiots. Stalking members of the ISA? Beth wouldn’t be surprised. She jerked back over her shoulder, on alert. There was no looming figure with a bag, no dark vehicle to lure her anywhere as a trap. Her sudden pulse spike mellowed out. Just these little babies, crying because they were cold. Beth made a move to hoist up the box, but the cardboard broke apart when she tried, having seeped into another cracked pavement puddle. Beth thought quickly, unzipping her purse again. She removed her phone and keys, and shoved aside that manila folder. She’d simply have to smuggle them. Six babies—five ginger, one white— plopped into her purse.

She didn’t even think about Rick until she was unlocking the front door.

“Hi, sweetheart. I texted you but I didn’t think you answered. I’m making—“

“ _Chuck?_ ” she called, shucking off her raincoat, and clutching her purse to her chest.

Rick walked out of their kitchen with a spatula, confused as Beth kissed his cheek distractedly, running off for the bedroom for the goggles. “ _Chuck!_ ”

The goggles lit up and Beth made another dash for the bathroom, pulling towels out of their drawers. Her purse moves where she left it on the floor, and then they’re all tumbling out on their own tails, mewling, and shivering.

“Chuck?” she said again. “How old are they? Are they sick? _What do I do?_ ” Rick stopped at the litter in front of his girlfriend on the floor. Beth gave him a helpless look.

“…Beth. What did you do….”

“They were wet and left alone in the alley!” she snapped, cuddling the runt to her chest, drying him off from the rain. The rumbly purr lessened her anxiety somewhat, but she couldn’t relax until Chuck did his read through on all of them completely. She scooped the white one to drop in Rick’s lap. He was now kneeling on the carpet beside her, still speechless.

“Babe,” he said.

She knew how she looked. “They’re _babies_.”

Rick let out a small sigh, resigning himself to become a kitten holder as he turned the heat off on the stove.

“This is like Hootie all over again,” he muttered. Beth’s mouth quirked up into a smile.

 _I suggest trying one of these three numbers for veterinarian assistance, although I’ll warn you the expenses for emergency kitten care can exceed two hundred dollars,_ Chuck pitched in. 

Rick let out a choking scoff from the other room. "Two hundred?" 

“Rick, _please_.” Beth picked up two more, offering them to Rick as the white one nearly climbed up his neck. “They need us.”

To accentuate her point, Beth leaned over to give him another kiss.

Suddenly, the smell of the food from the oven registered, and Beth peeked into the pan, juggling the kittens. “Oh, that looks good!” She tickled the runt. “Your daddy makes good food.”

A series of complicated expressions passed over Rick’s face. Ultimately, he caved, eyes softening impossibly. “We’re not parenting _six cats_.”

Beth pouted. “At least until we clear them with the vet?”

Rick rolled his eyes. "Fine." 

"And we can keep one or two?" 

“Fine," he said again, trying to suppress his amused smile, pulling her close to kiss away the creases of concern furrowed between her brow. "Maybe. Give me the number. You eat. I’ll call ‘em.”


End file.
